AC reverses fortunes against Swampscott

ARLINGTON - It was the second go-round for Arlington Catholic and Swampscott in the Division 3 playoffs, but it bore little resemblance to last year's Swampscott win.

Arlington Catholic broke out in the second half last night and rode a couple of big plays and solid defense to a 22-9 victory at Arlington High last night.

The teams struggled through the first half to a 6-2 Arlington Catholic advantage. But in the second half, the Cougars reversed course as they worked the clock and put up 16 points en route to the win.

"I thought our plan from the beginning was we would have to run the ball," said Arlington Catholic coach Serge Clivio. "I thought we would limit what [Swampscott QB Chris] Cameron could do."

Arlington Catholic running back Charlie Bates ran for 80 yards.

On the opening drive of the third quarter, Arlington Catholic executed a 69-yard scoring drive capped by a 1-yard plunge by Corey Spencer.

Swampscott responded with Stephen Moran's 83-yard touchdown return on the ensuing kickoff to bring the score to 14-9.

Arlington Catholic remained undaunted, however. About a minute later, the Cougars pulled away for good on a 41-yard option pass by Ricky Douglas, who took the handoff from Spencer, then threw to wide receiver Joe Wesoloski.

"It feels unreal," Spencer said. "All the credit goes to the defense. It was a total team effort."

Arlington Catholic's defense forced four turnovers, including an interception with about 4 1/2 minutes remaining in the game that stopped Swampscott's last gasp.

The game started with a slew of action when Cameron, on the first play of the game, aired out a pass that was intercepted by Arlington Catholic's Travis Stanley.

The Cougars took over on Swampscott's 21-yard line and needed just three plays to score, a 3-yard quarterback keeper by Spencer.

The Big Blue blocked AC's extra-point attempt, however, and Jon Poth scooped up the ball and returned it 85 yards to give Swampscott 2 points.

After that, neither offense could find a rhythm in the first half. The squads traded possession 12 times and both quarterbacks failed to establish consistency. Cameron nearly hit an open receiver for a touchdown midway through the second quarter, but the pass was dropped in what proved to be Swampscott's best chance at an offensive touchdown.

In the first half, the teams were able to combine for only six first downs, with Arlington Catholic posting 55 total yards to Swampscott's 54.

"They missed a couple of big opportunities, and we took advantage of that," Clivio said. "I'm so proud of the group of kids and how much they improved with every week."

Arlington Catholic will play Norton in the Division 3 Super Bowl Saturday at Gillette Stadium.